The Raveonettes ‘Excuses’
The latest from the Danish band’s Rave Sound of The Month series, written and recorded in 24 hours after they failed to get the mechanical licence for their planned cover version in time.
[The Raveonettes]

Violent Soho ‘Blanket’
Formerly based in the US and signed to Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label, Violent Soho relocated back to Australia five years ago and it seems to agree with them. Killer performances at this year’s Laneway Festival, tours that sell out in minutes and the current #1 album in Australia with Waco.
[Violent Soho]

Tacocat ‘Dana Katherine Scully’
From the title (Lost Time, out now, Hardly Art) on down, X-files references abound on the third album from the Seattle surf punks. This opening track is merely the most overt, a tribute to the more reason-led half of the the paranormal searching duo.
[Tacocat]

Woods ‘I See In The Dark’
Mournful horns, afro-funk, and west coast psychedelia meet on the first taste of the band’s forthcoming ninth album Sun City Eater in the River of Light (April 8, Woodsist). Can’t wait to hear the rest of it.
[Woods]

Kevin Morby ‘Dorothy’
Former Woods and sometimes Babies man Kevin Morby follows up 2014’s excellent Still Life with another track from his album Singing Saw (April 15, Dead Oceans).
[Kevin Morby]

Yeasayer ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’
Another stand out track from the forthcoming Yeasayer album, Amen & Goodbye. There’s a lot going on here, led and held together by the bass and percussion, there’s various synths, horns and woodwind coming in and out plus cameos from guitar and piano and a wordless vocal refrain (April 8th)
[Yeasayer]

Julia Jacklin ‘Pool Party’
It often seems that Sydney is awash with mediocre singer songwriters, so it’s always great when someone with talent comes along. Immediately prior to causing a buzz at SxSW (and weathering what could easily be crushing comparison’s to Angel Olsen), the Blue Mountains artist slipped this song out, and it’s a corker.
[Julia Jacklin]

Parquet Courts ‘Human Performance’
After the unnecessary, tuneless dirge of the last year’s Monastic Living EP (why?), Parquet Courts return with a proper record, of which this is the charming slacker fuzz title track.
[Parquet Courts]

Damien Jurado ‘QACHINA’
The mystic journey of discovery trilogy that started with Maroqopa (2012) and continued with Brothers and Sisters of The Eternal Son (201$) ends with Visions of Us on the Land, Jurado’s 12th (!) album (out now, Secretly Canadian). Proof that 21st Century Cosmic American music doesn’t need to sound like bad country.
[Damien Jurado]

The Goon Sax ‘Target’
Urbane indie pop trio from Brisbane-band which features Robert Forster’s son Louis, but who have enough talent of their own that people like me will probably stop mentioning the connection in about 20 years. From their excellent debut, Up To Anything (Chapter Music, out now).
[The Goon Sax]

The Thermals ‘Thinking of You’
With albums on Sub Pop, Kill Rock Stars and Saddle Creek, this Portland band are indie rock lifers. Hard to believe it’s a decade since their excellent The Body, The Blood, The Machine, which in itself was bookended by two other great albums (2004’s Fuckin’ A and 2009’s Now We Can See). Now they are back with their best album in 10 years, We Disappear (Saddle Creek, out now). Even on an album where tracks only break the three-minute mark twice, this one is a lesson in post-pop punk brevity.
[The Thermals]

Kyle Craft ‘Eye of A Hurricane’
Another track from the Portland, OR via Louisiana musician’s forthcoming debut album Dolls of Highland (Sub Pop, April 29).
[Kyle Craft]

Horror My Friend ‘Easy Going’
Taken from their debut Stay In, Do Nothing that came out a couple of months back (Poison City), but worth flagging up now as the band have just completed their album launch tour here in Australia.
[Horror My Friend]

Autolux ‘Becker’
One album every six years is a bit slack, but Pussy’s Dead, the third effort from the Los Angeles shoegaze / krautrock / space rock trio has been worth the wait, upping the electronics.
[Autolux]

Bleached ‘Chemical Air’
LA based sisters Jen and Jessica Clavin delivered one of 2013’s best albums with Ride Your Heart their Shangri-Las-meets-garage-pop debut as Bleached (they’d previously played together in Mika Miko). The follow up finds the Clavins bringing bassist Micayla Grace into the songwriting and recording with veteran producer Joe Chiccarelli, who cut is teeth with Frank Zappa and has recordied everyone from Poco to Spoon to My Morning Jacket and the Front Bottoms. This second preview track from Welcome the Worms is driven by simple girl-group inspired rhythm, fuzz guitar and a topped by the vocal melody and the repeated hook of “I’ve been giving in, in to giving up, up to nothing but trying to kill time / you’ve been missing now, out on everything, everything is passing you by” (out now, Dead Oceans).
[Bleached]

Gold Class ‘Standing At The Fault Line’
Melbourne gothy post-punksters follow up their excellent debut album with this track, one side of a split single with Sydney-side kindred spirits Mere Women.
[Gold Class]

Moonface and Siinai ‘Risto’s Riff’
Spencer Krug of the recently re-activated Wolf Parade returns with the third of his collboaration with Finnish band Siinai, My Best Human Face (Jagjaguwar, June 3).
This is the first track to surface, featuring Krug’s inimitable vocal style, heavily sustained guitar riff and driving beat.
[Moonface and Siinai]

A Giant Dog ‘Get With You and Get High’
Houston band enlist fellow Texan Bitt Daniel on this out of character slow number taken from their forthcoming third album, Pile (Merge, 6 May).
[A Giant Dog]

Winterpills ‘Freeze Your Light’
Northampton, MA indie folksters follow up their low key covers record Echolalia (2014) with their fifth album proper, Love Songs (Signature Sound, out now), from which this is one of many highlights.
[Winterpills]

Marissa Nadler ‘All The Colors of The Dark’
Massachusetts gothic folk singer songwriter follows up 2014’s wonderful July with a new album Strangers (Sacred Bones / Bella Union, May 20th). This is the second track to be featured here after last month’s ‘Janie in Love’.
[Marissa Nadler]

Deardarkhead ‘Falling Upward’
New Jersey’s veteran post-punk influenced shoegazers who parted ways with their vocalist in 2009 have found a renewed focus since they now deal exclusively in instrumental music. This is from their rather excellent Strange Weather EP (out now, Saint Marie Records).
[Deardarkhead]